Material Handling Equipment

Also called: pallet jack, hydraulic trolley, HPT

2,000–3,000 kg · fork 1,150 mm

The single most common piece of handling equipment in the country. Ground-level movement only.

Also called: flat trolley, four-wheel trolley

150–1,000 kg · fixed or folding handle

General-purpose movement. The wheel specification, not the deck, determines whether it lasts.

Also called: trolley, two-wheeler

150–300 kg

Cartons, drums, cylinders and sacks. Stair-climbing variants exist for last mile.

Also called: hand stacker, winch stacker

1,000–1,500 kg · lift 1.6–3.0 m

Reaches the second beam level without a powered truck. Slow, but it works in a 2 m aisle.

Powered lift · manual travel

The usual first step up from manual, and often the last one a mid-size operation needs.

Also called: scissor-lift pallet truck

Lifts to ~800 mm

Brings the pallet to working height. Removes most of the bending in a pick or pack operation.

Integrated scale · 2,000 kg

Weighs at the point of movement instead of at a floor scale.

Grips, tilts and pours a 200 L drum

Manual drum handling is a common back-injury source. This equipment removes it.

A-frame or upright with restraints

Sheet, glass and board moved on edge.

Also called: pick cart, multi-order trolley

Tote or shelf levels · braked castors

Batch picking several orders on one walk.

2–4 levels · 150–500 kg

General internal movement, kitting and line feed.

Also called: security trolley, roll cage

Mesh sides · lockable options

Contained movement of loose or valuable stock.

Drawered · lockable

Maintenance teams working across a floor.

Bagged or tubbed

Hospitality, healthcare and facility operations.

Steered towed dollies

Line-side delivery in manufacturing.

Also called: forklift, CB truck

1.5–5 t · aisle 3.5–4.2 m · electric, diesel or LPG

Yard, dock and general handling. The widest aisle requirement of any truck, and the most versatile.

1.4–2.5 t · aisle 2.6–3.0 m · lift to 12 m

The standard indoor racking truck. Most selective racking above 6 m assumes one.

Also called: electric pallet truck, ride-on PPT

2–3 t · walk-behind or ride-on

Long horizontal runs — dock to rack, cross-dock, loading.

1.2–2 t · lift to 5.5 m

Low-height racking and mezzanine feeding at a fraction of a reach truck's cost.

Also called: low-level and high-level order picker

Operator rises with the platform

Case picking directly from the second and third levels without letting anything down.

Also called: man-up truck, articulated truck

Aisle 1.6–1.8 m · lift to 14 m

Buys 40%+ more pallet positions in the same shed, and requires wire or rail guidance and a superflat floor.

Also called: platform truck, tow tug

Tows trolley trains

Line-feed and long-haul internal movement. Replaces repeated single-pallet trips.

Clamps, rotators, extensions, jibs, drum grabs

Each attachment derates the truck's capacity. The derated figure, not the plate figure, is the one to work to.

Also called: telehandler

Yard and site handling

Unpaved yards, container destuffing outdoors, project sites.

Also called: dock ramp, hydraulic leveller

6–10 t · hydraulic or mechanical · hinged or telescopic lip

Bridges floor to truck bed and takes up the ride-height difference. Without one, forks and pallets take the difference instead.

Inflatable, curtain or foam

Closes the gap around the trailer. On a cold store this is refrigeration cost; everywhere else it is dust, rain and birds.

Also called: container ramp

6–12 t · adjustable height

Creates a dock where the building has none. Standard for container destuffing at grade.

Rubber, laminated or steel-faced

Consumable by design. It is cheaper to replace bumpers than the dock face behind them.

Manual chock or powered restraint with interlock

Stops trailer creep during loading — the cause of the most serious dock accidents.

Arm light · red/green interlock signals

Tells the driver whether it is safe to pull away. Interlocked with the restraint where fitted.

Fixed or portable

For sites loading containers rather than trailers.

Also called: hydraulic lift table

500–4,000 kg · fixed, mobile or pit-mounted

Sets the work at the operator's height instead of the operator at the work's height.

Also called: cargo lift, dumbwaiter

250–3,000 kg · between fixed levels

The usual way stock reaches a mezzanine once volume outgrows a pallet gate.

Ground to dock height

Where a leveller cannot bridge the difference.

Self-levelling · rotating top

Removes the reach and the twist from manual palletising.

Also called: MEWP, boom lift, scissor lift

Working height 6–14 m

Maintenance access to lighting, sprinklers and the top of the racking.

Also called: warehouse ladder, safety steps

Platform steps with handrail and locking castors

The compliant answer to climbing the racking, which is otherwise what happens.

Forklift-mounted, with harness points

Permitted for occasional access only, and only with a rated cage and a harness — never a pallet.

Also called: overhead crane, bridge crane

1–50 t · single or double girder

Bay-wide coverage in fabrication and heavy storage. Needs a gantry designed with the building.

Floor-running legs

Where the building cannot carry a crane rail.

Also called: pillar crane, wall jib

0.25–5 t · slewing arm

Point coverage at a machine or a workstation.

Also called: chain pulley block

0.5–20 t manual

Maintenance lifting and occasional placement.

0.5–20 t

Repetitive lifting on a fixed path.

Sheet, board, glass and plate handling

One person handles a sheet that would take three and still risk edge damage.

Webbing, chain and wire rope · tested and tagged

Consumable and inspected. An untagged sling is a failed audit.

Load-tested to drawing

Long or unbalanced loads that a single hook would tip.